


Phoenix

by Knight_Writer_95



Category: Frozen (2013)
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Fantasy, Historical References, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-22
Updated: 2015-04-10
Packaged: 2018-03-19 00:49:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3590046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Knight_Writer_95/pseuds/Knight_Writer_95
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ever since the death of her parents, Elsa has felt that she is alone in the world with her unique abilities. But a chance encounter with a strange man at her job pulls her, Anna and Kristoff into a dangerous but fantastical world of magic and endless wonder. With new friends at their side, Elsa and Anna have a chance to learn more about their parents, the powers they both possess, and work to save the world from rogue magic and artifacts as agents of the Phoenix Division.<br/>Inspired by TV shows like 'Warehouse 13', 'The Librarians' and 'The X-Files.'</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Strange Meeting

An alarm in a bedroom went off and almost immediately a delicate hand shot out from under the covers of the bed to shut it off. A second later a head of long platinum blonde hair followed which was then brushed away from the face. Elsa let out a long yawn as she stretched and hopped out of the bed. She immediately shuffled to the closet, shaking her head and rubbing the remnants of sleep out of her eyes.

 _'_ _What should I wear today?'_ she thought to herself.

Finally she settled on grey jeans and an ice blue shirt that had an intricate frost inspired pattern on it. After applying some makeup and putting her hair in her signature French braid, Elsa walked to the kitchen, stopping outside her sister's door and knocking on it.

"Anna, are you awake?"

"Hm? Urm… yeah, I'm awake. I've been up for hours…" was the sleepy reply that was then followed by what sounded suspiciously like snoring.

Elsa smiled to herself, knowing that Anna always had a hard time getting out of bed without the promise of something chocolate. "Well get up and get ready now or I won't make you your favorite chocolate chip pancakes."

There was no reply but suddenly Elsa heard a thump that was Anna falling out of bed and a lot of movement. Her small smile widened as she continued on to the kitchen to make the pancakes. The first of the pancakes were almost ready to some off the griddle when Anna came drifting in, clearly following her nose as she sniffed the air with a large smile spread across her face.

"Mmm, chocolate. The most heavenly food on earth," the strawberry blonde drooled as her sister put some pancakes on a plate for her and handed her a mug of coffee.

"So what's on your schedule for today?" asked Elsa as Anna started inhaling her pancakes. "And swallow before you answer."

"I've got English, health and computer science with Kristoff today. What about you?" she asked as a dreamy look filled her eyes at the mention of Kristoff's name.

"I've got the noon to closing shift today at the store so I won't be here when you get back. But I will be back for dinner, so don't go spoiling your appetite with chocolate."

"I make no promises," smiled Anna as she finished the last of her pancakes.

Elsa glared at her younger sibling who shrank back a bit before acquiescing. "Fine, I won't eat all the chocolate in the house. Are you happy now?"

"Yes."

"Why are you still working at  _The Rack_?" asked Anna in a sudden topic change. "You complain almost every night about the conditions, how you're overworked and that it really pushes you. I know you worry about what might happen if someone pushes you too far."

"The retail job is hardly ideal, but we need the income until my art starts selling, if it ever does. I don't expect you to support both of us working at  _Brain Freeze Yogurt._ "

"You need to be more positive about your art, you have an amazing eye for color and are the best artist I know."

"You're just saying that to make me feel better."

"No, I really mean it. Your art really is good and you've sold a few paintings already. Before you know it your work will really be in demand and you'll be able to quit that crappy retail job."

A smile brightened Elsa's face as she took a sip of her mocha. She really was fortunate to have someone like Anna in her life.

"Oh, is it alright if Kristoff joins us for dinner tonight?" Anna questioned, breaking the blonde out of her thoughts.

"You know he's welcome here anytime."

"Great, what are we having tonight?"

"I was thinking we would do Chinese take-out. You call it in."

"I will do that," agreed Anna as she put her dishes in the sink and bounded off to her room to finish getting ready for the day.

* * *

Elsa liked to hum to herself as she drove to the clothing store she worked at. Today it was  _Firework_  by Katy Perry which she continued to hum after parking and walking to the large department store. But the tune was interrupted with a groan when she entered the store and saw a banner advertising a sale. With how understaffed the store was that would ensure she wouldn't get a break her whole shift. Elsa shook her head at the level of idiocy displayed by corporate. They clearly had no idea how to run a store and she wondered how they ever got to be in their current positions by understaffing their stores. The people that did work here had to put up with near constant human abuse as customers cussed them out for helping another customer instead of them. If one could survive a day in retail with their wits still intact then they could handle a lot in life.

 _'_ _Architects should live in the homes they design and CEOs should work the sales floors of their stores,'_  she thought.

Working the retail job was both boring and stressful when it seemed everyone forgot that the retail workers were humans too but Elsa did what she needed to in order to earn her pay. To deal with the dull humdrum hours that weren't taken up by assisting people who probably didn't possess any common sense, she did things like mental math. It helped keep her brain occupied and it was something she liked doing. Calculating the volume of boxes from which merchandise was being unpacked and adding up someone's change at the register helped Elsa's day go by that little bit faster.

Finally, after a day of cleaning up after people who couldn't be bothered to do so themselves and dealing with abrasive and sometimes downright rude customers, closing time came and relief washed over Elsa. Another day had passed without an incident. It was her night to lock up and after making sure the changing rooms were all cleaned up, everyone else had left. Elsa was heading for the front of the store when a noise from somewhere in the store stopped her.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" she called out.

Silence was all that greeted her.

It might have been nothing but then it might be someone still in the store looking to make off with some of the merchandise. Elsa decided to make sure it really was nothing and ventured deeper into the dimly lit shop. She was about to chalk it up to nerves because being alone in an empty store at closing time was a bit nerve-racking when she noticed that the door to the stockroom was slightly ajar.

"Is someone in here?" she called again as she entered the stockroom.

If it was possible this place was creepier than the rest of the store. Movement out of the corner of her eye got Elsa's attention and she turned to face the offender.

"Listen, whoever you are, I'm going to have to ask you to leave. It's closing time."

The figure stepped forward out of the shadows but Elsa was in no way prepared for what she saw. What she had originally thought to be a man hoping to make off with something turned out to be one of the window display dummies moving on its own. That… was impossible. Elsa staggered backwards as the dummy advanced towards her soon joined by other display mannequins. They all continued to advance until Elsa was backed up against a wall.

"S-stay back, all of you!" she demanded as she held her hands up in front of her.

The dummies paid her warning no heed.

"I'm warning you, stay back or else!"

Once more the dummies ignored Elsa and raised their hands into the air as though preparing to strike her. She closed her eyes in preparation but was suddenly tackled to the ground by someone very human.

"Come on!" a voice said and then Elsa was aware of being pulled to her feet and dragged back to the main floor of the store, the dummies behind them.

The duo exploded onto the sales floor and slammed the doors shut behind them but immediately they felt the dummies on the other side pushing, trying to get past. They couldn't hold the doors shut forever and Elsa had no key for the storeroom.

"Aren't you going to do anything?" she yelled in panic at her rescuer.

"Yeah, I'm doing something right now!" he snapped back as he took a pen out of his pocket and started drawing something on the doors which glowed for a split second and then the shoving on the other side ceased.

"What did you do?"

"I just ensured that they can't get through," he answered before turning to face Elsa.

After all the fast movement this was the first time she got to properly look at the stranger. He was ruggedly handsome, around six feet tall, had raven black hair swept to his left and startling bright green eyes. He was wearing a brown double breasted long coat that stopped a few inches above his heels, dark blue jeans, an untucked maroon button down shit and grey and white Nike high tops.

"Those were shop window dummies…" she murmured.

"Yes they were," said the stranger.

"And they were moving as though they were alive…"

"Yes and no. Yes, they're moving around like they're alive, no, they aren't actually alive."

"Then what were they? They're plastic, they can't be alive and they can't move like that! And unless they're really skinny, there's no one inside!" exclaimed Elsa, trying to rationalize all of this. The stranger's answer did nothing to help.

"They can move on their own when they're possessed," he stated and spun around on his heel and headed towards the front of the store.

"Possessed? What do you mean possessed? Hey, I'm talking to you!" she exclaimed as she hurried to keep up. He walked rather fast.

"This building has been has been infested by a level three vaporous apparition which is possibly malevolent. Well, not possibly anymore, those dummies tried to kill you back there so we now know this entity is dangerous."

"You're talking like this is something supernatural."

"You're quick, aren't you? And yes, this is something supernatural."

"What?"

Did this man have any idea how strange he was sounding? Things that go bump in the night existed only within the confines of books, TV shows and movies.

"Alright, cut the joke. Is this one of those hidden camera shows or something? Am I on  _The Carbonaro Effect_  or something like that? Were those really people wearing suits to look like the mannequins?"

"Do I look like Michael Carbonaro to you? This is not a hidden camera show, I can assure you."

"Then what is it? What's going on?"

"I told you, a level three malevolent apparition is taking over the building and I have to get rid of it."

"You mean you're going to perform an exorcism?"

"Something like that."

"How? I don't see a crucifix on you anywhere and you don't strike me as a priest."

"Well the procedure might be easy or it might be hard, it depends on how much of this department store has been possessed by the entity. If it's invaded too much then I'm going to have to use this little thing my partner whipped up."

The stranger produced a copper colored orb a bit larger than a baseball from one of his pockets that had glowing runes across its surface. Something about it suddenly put Elsa on edge and the slight grin the man had didn't help anything either. The man turned to continue on his path when Elsa saw a shadow approaching him.

"Behind you!" she warned.

The man turned and reacted like lightning, ducking under a blow that had been aimed at his head, grabbing the arm as he came up and thrusting the attacker into the dimly lit walkway. It was another mannequin, one from the sales floor this time and it seemed to be the only animate one. Elsa severely hoped that was the case.

"I do not have the time to deal with you," muttered the stranger as the dummy got up and attempted to tackle him in the gut.

For a second Elsa thought she saw his hand start to glow as he brought it down on his opponent's back. The window mannequin immediately fell apart into a pile of plastic limbs. A dark orange gaseous apparition floated out of the ruined body, growled, and melted into the ceiling.

"And that's why the last thing I need is civilians getting in the way. It really is better if you're not here so please do us both a favor and leave."

Elsa trailed along again, lost in thought and almost ran into her rescuer when he stopped in front of her. Suddenly she noticed that they were at the front of the store and he was holding the door open for her.

"Go on then, go on home and order a pizza or something for dinner. Don't worry about me, forget about all this and don't tell anyone this happened," he smiled as he ushered her outside.

"Why, what happens if I tell anyone?"

"Nothing, people will just think you're a nutter," he replied as though it were the most obvious thing in the world and ducked back into the store.

Elsa stood there outside the department store trying to process all of this. Who was that man, why was he going on about malevolent paranormal entities, how were the dummies moving without anyone inside and what was that sphere he had?

The doors opened again and the stranger popped his head back out. "My name's Daniel, by the way. What's your name?"

"Elsa."

"Lovely name, pleasure to make your acquaintance, Elsa…" he trailed off and stared at her intently as if actually seeing her for the first time.

"Do I have something on my face?" she asked after a few seconds under his stare.

"What? No! No, sorry, it's just there's something familiar about you. I get the feeling I've seen you before but someone as beautiful as you, I'm sure I would remember…"

Elsa felt her cheeks heat up at the compliment.

"Then again, maybe I'm just overworked," the now identified Daniel said before remembering what he was doing at the department store in the first place. "Again, lovely to have met you, don't tell anyone about this and run for your life!" he grinned maniacally and brandished the orb before disappearing into the shop again.

Elsa stood there for another second before she turned and ran for her car. She was pulling out of the parking lot when the top floor of the shop exploded, sending out a shockwave that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

What had happened?

And was Daniel alright?

* * *

A/N: I need your help! I have a few potential story plots on the back burner of my mind right now but desperately need more so please leave some in a review of PM them to me. If you send me an idea and I use it, you'll get credit for it and I'll send you a personal response and a sneak peek at whatever chapter will be coming next. This fanfiction was inspired by shows like  _Warehouse 13_ ,  _The Librarians_ , and  _X-Files_. This is the only chapter in this I will be publishing until I finish A Wish Upon a Star and/or Waking Nightmares, whatever comes first. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and please leave a review. Don't make me beg.


	2. You Again?

When Elsa finally reached home, she was immediately tackled in a ferocious rib cracking hug by Anna.

"Elsa! Thank goodness you're safe! Kristoff and I got here a little a while ago and when we turned on the TV it was on the news and before we could change the channel they said your work place had blown up! Are you alright? Do you need anything? Did you see anything? I've been phoning you since I found out!"

"Elsa pulled out her cell phone and saw that she had indeed missed multiple calls from her younger sister. Her state of shock probably kept her from noticing the vibrations as she drove home.

"I'm sorry, Anna. I was outside the store when it went up and I must have been so shocked that I missed your calls."

"It's alright, I'm just glad you're safe," grinned Anna and pulled her sister into another bear hug.

"Ease up, Anna, she needs to breathe," joked Kristoff from the sitting room.

The exuberant redhead let go and smiled sheepishly as they joined Kristoff on the couch.

"Is there anything you need, Elsa?" Kristoff asked the other blonde.

"I could do with a glass of wine," she admitted.

"I'll get it, you just stay there," he said and went to get the requested drink.

"So, did you happen to see anything?" Anna prodded.

Elsa paused in answering, remembering what had been told.

 _"_ _Don't worry about me, forget about all this and don't tell anyone this happened."_

 _"_ _Why? What happens if I tell?"_

 _"_ _Nothing, people will just think you're a nutter."_

Daniel's claim was the only thing he had said to her that Elsa actually agreed with. The rest of what had been seen was still having a hard time being taken as real. And despite it all, she got the feeling that everything he had told her had been the truth. But what were his real reasons for not wanting her to talk about what she had seen? Elsa could tell he had been serious when he said not talk.

"Earth to Elsa, are you there?" Anna waved her hand in front of the blonde's eyes, pulling her out of her thoughts. "Are you sure you're alright? You just zoned out on me."

"Yes, sorry Anna, I'm fine. I guess I'm just still in shock."

"Well here's something that might help with that," said Kristoff as he returned with the wine in hand.

Elsa thanked him, took a sip and let herself relax and sink back into the sofa. Anna, though, continued to try and get her to talk and repeated her question.

"You still haven't answered my question, did you see anything?"

"Anna, I'm not sure what I can say. I mean, I did see something but it's all so unbelievable it's like an episode of the  _Twilight Zone._ I'm not sure what to believe about what I saw."

"What do you mean by that? Explain!"

"I'm not really sure what to tell you."

"Are we going to get any answers from you or just more questions? Just tell us what happened starting at the beginning!"

Elsa sighed, took another sip of her wine, and started talking. "I was the last one in the store tonight because it was my night to lock up. I heard a noise and went to investigate because I thought it might be someone trying to stay in after hours and steal some of the merchandise. I found the door to the stockroom open and when I went in I didn't find a person like I was expecting. Instead one of the mannequins we use for display started moving like it was alive. Multiple mannequins came to life and they all backed me against a wall. I thought it was all a prank but then they were clearly going to attack me. I was shoved out of the way just before I would have been hit. That man probably saved my life."

"Wait, he?" Anna interrupted.

"Yes, 'he' saved me and got me out of the store room and did something to the door. He said that that way the dummies that had been chasing us wouldn't be able to get past. He was taking me to an exit when we were attacked by one of the mannequins on the sales floor. He wrestled with it for a minute before hitting it and causing it to fall apart. But when he did that I could swear that I saw his hand glowing when he did it. But what I really noticed was that there was no one inside the mannequin but something vaporous did come out and float away through the ventilation system."

"Did this man say what he was doing at the store because if he was going to rob it there are easier ways of going about it," asked Kristoff.

"He did say when I asked but it's crazier than everything I just told you."

"Never mind that, what did he say?" Anna pried.

"H-he said that the building had been infested by a…" she trailed off.

"Infested by a what?"

"A ghost! He essentially said that the store had a ghost problem and he was there to take care of it. He showed me this sphere he had that was glowing and I think he's the one who set off the explosion. I don't know if he survived."

"You're right, that is crazy. Or rather the guy was crazy," said Kristoff.

"Did you get a name for Mr. Mad as a Hatter?" Anna inquired.

"That was the one thing he gave me without my asking. He said it was Daniel Griffin."

"Describe him."

"Why?"

"Because that way, if I ever see him, then I can introduce him to my right hook."

Despite herself Elsa felt her lips twitch upwards in a smile. "He was tall, about six foot, maybe be more, lean, athletic build, was rather handsome, had black hair that fell over his left eye in a bit of a fringe, and bright green eyes. I don't know if he wears it all the time but he also had on a long brown coat that looked a bit worn."

"Details cataloged, if I see him, he's going down," promised Anna.

"Neither of you will tell anyone else, will you?"

"Why would we?" Kristoff questioned.

"Because this entire story is absolutely insane and impossible and I'm scared that maybe I've found out something I really shouldn't have!" Elsa exclaimed and started to break down. "I mean, if we're not supposed to know about this then we might not be safe! Anna, we've already lost mom and dad, I don't want to lose you to."

"Hey, I'm not going anywhere, Elsa. I'm in this with you, whatever it is," she assured and pulled her sister into a comforting hug.

"And then there's Daniel, if that's even his real name. Despite what he said the fact remains that he saved my life and for all I know he could have been killed in the explosion."

Elsa broke down completely then and started crying heavily into Anna's shoulder. Both Anna and Kristoff looked at Elsa and then at each other. The elder sister must have been really scared if she was behaving like this. Both promised silently that if Daniel had survived and either of them ever saw him then they would let their fists do the talking.

* * *

Elsa yawned and stretched in her bed as she slowly woke up the following morning. Last night had been gratefully nightmare free and she was feeling refreshed though still a little shaken up over what she had witnessed. There was no work to go to today so she stayed in the bed for a few more minutes, enjoying the luxury of being able to just lie there for a while before having to face the day. Finally, though, Elsa heaved herself out of the warm comfortable covers and started getting dressed. After waking Anna up and cleaning up their Chinese take-out dinner which was still on the coffee table, she started scrambling some eggs and brewing a fresh pot of coffee. Just before breakfast was ready Anna staggered in, following her noise to the coffee pot.

"Oh my, it looks like the zombie apocalypse finally happened in my home," Elsa joked.

Anna shot the best glower she could as the blonde and half shuffled half stumbled to the coffee maker and poured herself a mug. Soon the coffee had taken effect and Anna was sociable again as the two chatted about anything other than what had happened the previous night.

"So… what are your plans for the day?" inquired Anna as she took a bite out of her toast.

"I'm not entirely sure. I thought that perhaps I'd go to the book store and maybe the mall to do some shopping. It's been awhile since I've had this much time to myself."

"Well classes end in the afternoon for me so I can meet you at the mall and we can take the rest of the day, what do you say?"

"I think it's a plan," Elsa agreed.

The sisters were then interrupted from further conversation by a rattling coming from the door. Elsa got up to check what was going on when she heard a familiar voice on the other side of the door. Where had she heard it before? Suddenly it hit her and she yanked the door open to see an all too familiar face as he suddenly fumbled to put away some sort of smartphone. 

* * *

**Daniel's POV**

"Alright, listen, this went too far when you blew up my job. Are you stalking me?"

"Wait, what? No-I-uh, that is… what are you doing here?"

"This is my home. Do you need any other reason than that? Now what are you doing here?"

Instead of answering I dug into my satchel and pulled out an arrow shaped crystal on a chain which started swinging around and glowing with an internal light.

"Must have gotten the wrong energy signature somehow," I muttered. "Unless… you haven't been possessed have you?" I asked as I looked into Elsa's eyes.

"Excuse me? Last I checked I wasn't possessed like you said those mannequins were."

"Elsa, who is it?" asked Anna from the dining room.

"Obviously the wrong signature, have a good day," I smiled and turned to walk away.

"Oh no you don't, get in here now!" snapped Elsa as she grabbed my arm and pulled me inside.

"What's going on? Wait, who are you?" Anna inquired when she walked over and saw me.

"Anna, this is Daniel Griffin, the man who saved me at the shop last night. Daniel, this is my sister, Anna," Elsa introduced us.

"Charmed, I'm sure," I said and extended my hand to Anna only to be decked by a right hook I did not see coming.

"Ouch, I'm pretty sure I'll feel that tomorrow."

"Anna!"

"What? I told you last night that if I saw him I'd floor him with my right hook. Besides, he deserves it for scaring you as much as he did."

"Sincere apologies, I had no intentions of scaring you last night but I can see how you would be given what you saw. And since your sister just delivered one hell of a swing I can only assume you told her about what happened," I apologized as I got back on my feet.

"She can be unbelievably tenacious in her pursuit of answers and that makes it hard for me to keep things from her."

"I can understand, secrets can tear a family apart so in the long run, no real harm done as long as she doesn't go blabbing the story about town."

"Don't worry, she promised me she wouldn't tell anyone else. Now as long as you're here do you want some coffee? We just had breakfast so excuse the mess," offered Elsa as we walked into the kitchen and Anna forced me into a chair.

"Might as well, thanks. Just creamer and a packet of sugar please," I requested as I returned Anna's glare.

"Now I still have questions that I want answers to and you are going to give them to me," the redhead insisted.

"You're not getting anything out of me, outsider! I signed a confidentiality agreement so I don't have to tell you anything!"

"Seriously? A confidentiality agreement? Is that the best you can do?"

"Well, it's not exactly one hundred percent the truth but it's close enough."

"And what about what you told Elsa last night? How much of that was 'close enough' to the truth?"

"Actually it was all the truth one hundred percent."

"Are you sure? Because your claims are outrageous!"

"And that's the way we like it," I muttered.

"Care to repeat that so we can all hear it?"

"No, not really," I shrugged.

"You are frustrating, you know that?"

"I've been told that a few times."

"Look, is there anything you can tell us at all? Because I still think I'm going insane after last night," asked Elsa as she returned with the coffee.

"I'm sorry, but I can't. Confidentiality agreement."

"Then who are you? Can you at least tell us that?"

"I told you already, Daniel Griffin."

"That's all you're going to tell us, isn't it?"

"Afraid so. Sorry."

Anna finally had enough of my dodging their questions and took a step forward with a harsh glare. "Look, I don't know who you think you are but what my sister saw last night terrified her! After she told me and my boyfriend what had happened she broke down and started crying on my shoulder. The only other time she broke down like that was when we lost our parents so I think you owe us at least part of the truth!"

"I really am sorry to hear that but I can't tell you anything. You outsiders aren't ready to know about this yet."

"Oh come on, you have to give us something! After all, you weren't exactly this tight lipped at the store!"

"That was different. Your sister was there, she saw things she really shouldn't have, so I felt at the moment I had to give some sort of explanation but beyond that my lips are sealed. And besides, it's like I told her. If she repeated what I said to her to anyone else, with the exception of you, apparently, they are going to call the straitjacket patrol."

Anna looked like she was about to fire off a biting remark when a scuffing sound from behind the sofa gained everyone's attention.

"What's that?" I asked as I got up to investigate. "Do you have a cat?"

"No, Olaf died a year ago and Anna hasn't wanted to get another one."

"Olaf? You named your cat Olaf?"

"She named him, not me," insisted Elsa with a finger pointed at Anna.

"Anyway, whatever that was it might be what I'm looking- ACK!"

My speech was impeded by a vice suddenly being closed around my throat. It was one of the arms from the display dummy I had fought last night. Elsa and Anna both shrieked before coming to try and stop the arm from strangling me. With their help the offending arm was thrown off. It floated in the air for a split second before firing a blast of ectoplasm that barely missed Elsa's head.

"Everybody take cover!" I ordered as I turned the coffee table on its side.

"It's shooting lasers at us!" yelled Anna from behind the recliner.

"Those aren't actual lasers," I stated as I dared to peek out over the top of the overturned table and was rewarded with another blast flying past my ear. Its aim was lousy.

"I don't care what it is, I just want it to stop!"

"Finally, something we can agree on!" I snapped back as I pulled a special type of gun out of the inside pocket of my coat. Unfortunately I was shot at every time I dared to expose any part of myself. I needed a distraction.

"Alright, are any of you feeling particularly brave?"

"What?" asked Elsa from behind the sofa.

"I need someone to draw its fire so I can get a clear shot!"

"Anna, Elsa, are you alright?" came a voice from the front door.

"Kristoff? Get out of here!" exclaimed Anna.

"What's wrong?" he asked as he came into view and was greeted with the sight of a messy and scorched living room and a plastic arm floating in midair.

The arm immediately turned on him and fired off another bolt of ectoplasm. Only Kristoff's fast reflexes allowed the shot to miss him and impact the wall behind. His arrival couldn't have been more timely, though, as he had provided the distraction needed for me to take my shot. An arc of golden energy spewed forth from my gun and struck the possessed arm which fell to the floor.

"Alright, time to put this monster away for good," I said and pulled a small circular copper container out of another pocket and unscrewed the lid. Immediately a strong suction started pulling on nearby objects and an orange colored vapor was pulled from the arm into the container. As soon as it was in I slapped the lid back on grinned triumphantly.

"Is it over now?" asked Elsa as she and Anna came out of their hiding places.

"Yeah, it's safe," I assured as I picked up the arm. "I've stopped it, see? Armless," I joked and tossed it to Elsa.

"You really think so?" the younger sister inquired as she grabbed it from Elsa and hit me in the shoulder.

Elsa grabbed the arm back and fixed me with a glare. I seemed to be getting them a lot from these sisters. "Are you going to tell us anything now? After all, they've seen a bit of what I saw last night now."

"Sorry but this changes nothing except that I've got what I came for. Now even if it's not all the same to you, I'll me taking my leave now. Bye!" I waved and bounded for the door.

"Could you at least tell us who you are really?" she insisted from the doorway.

I stopped in my tracks and turned to look back at the trio. "Who I really am?" I repeated.

Elsa nodded her head.

"I'm a fairytale," I said simply and resumed my walk.

"Was that Daniel?" asked Kristoff.

"It was," answered Anna with a frown.

"Did you get any answers from him?"

"No, not a one. He kept dodging our questions."

"He owes us some, especially after that… that thing attacked us in your home! I'll drag him back here and get him to talk."

"Kristoff, wait!" exclaimed Elsa, trying to keep him from starting anything.

"W-where'd he go?" Kristoff stuttered as he looked up and down the street.

"What do you mean?"

"Daniel… he's gone."

"What do you mean?" Anna inquired as she joined him.

"I mean gone! As in vanished, disappeared, he's just… gone."

The trio looked around but the street was empty. It very much appeared that that strange man had vanished into thin air.


	3. Welcome to the Archive Pt. 1

An alarm clock went off waking the sleeping occupant of the bed next to it. Elsa's hand reached out and shut the alarm off before rolling over and staring at the ceiling. Last night had been somewhat rough with all the questions that had been swirling around in her head. Her dreams had been full with images of what she had seen at the department store and Daniel. His answers were frustrating at best yesterday and she wanted nothing more than to search Arendelle until she found him and make him talk. She had seen things, dammit! She was entitled, no matter what he thought, to know at least a bit of the truth. All of this was on Elsa's mind as she and Anna sat in silence at the table eating breakfast.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Anna asked, breaking the silence.

"Just… thinking about Daniel. The night I met him he didn't seem to care about what he told me but the second time when we confronted him he was as tight as a clam. I can't figure him out and it is vexing me."

"Hey, just give it some time. We can come back to it later because there is no way I'm done with him either and maybe we can finally get an answer of two. Sometimes all we need to do is give things some time and then when we return we find what we're looking for."

Elsa smiled lightly and finished the last of her eggs. She had put away her dishes and was walking past the front door to the bathroom to brush her teeth when a pair of envelopes was slipped underneath. She stopped to pick them up and felt an immediate tingling sensation when she touched them. The envelopes were identical, she noted, and one was addressed to her and the other to Anna. On the back was a stamp emblem of a phoenix. Curious.

"Anna, we got some mail."

"Mail? It's still morning, the postman doesn't come until the afternoon."

"I know, these letters addressed to us were just slipped under the door," she replied as she gave Anna hers.

Elsa opened her envelope and pulled out the paper that was inside. Actually, it wasn't paper, she thought, it more looked like parchment. It was blank but a second after it had left the envelope it glowed a brightly and gold letters wrote themselves onto the parchment. It read like this:

_Elsa Callahan,_

_You have been selected to interview for a position at the Phoenix Division._

_Come this afternoon at one o'clock sharp to the address listed at the bottom._

_Wonders beyond your wildest dreams await you should you choose to accept._

_Be sure to have this letter with you or you will not be admitted._

There was no signature. In its place was another phoenix emblem like the one on the back of the envelope. Elsa looked at the envelope next. It was plain white but bore no return address or even any postage stamps. It was as if they appeared at their place by… magic.

"Elsa… what does your letter say?" asked Anna as she looked up from her letter, one identical to hers Elsa noticed.

"It says that I've been picked to interview for a position at some place called the Phoenix Division, whatever that is."

"I got the exact same letter!"

"Really? How could we both get letters about a job at the same place?"

"I don't know, but we have."

Elsa looked back down at her letter and the address it had listed. It was somewhere in the warehouse district if her memory was right.

"So… are we going or not?" asked the redhead.

* * *

Curiosity killed the cat. This was no exception. After what they had both seen, the letters piqued the interest of both sisters. There was no way either of them were going to let this go unexplored. If Daniel would not give them answers, perhaps his would if it was what they were hoping it was. So it was a few minutes before one in the afternoon that they were pulling up outside an old brick warehouse in Arendelle's warehouse district in Elsa's blue Subaru Legacy.

"This is the place? Are you sure?"

"Anna, it's the address on the letter. You can check yours if you want."

Elsa had to admit that she too was unimpressed. She wasn't sure what she was expecting but it was not an old building standing alone in the middle of a relatively abandoned area of the city. She was even starting to wonder if they should have come at all.

"At least there are people here," Anna said and pointed to three cars that were parked outside the warehouse.

One of the vehicles was a rust red original Volkswagen Beetle, another was a light green 1978 Pontiac Thunderbird and the last was a ruby red Ford Firebird.

Elsa and Anna got out the car and approached the door nestled to the side of the building. The sound of another vehicle pulling up behind them drew their attention and they saw Kristoff's old Toyota Hilux come rumbling up. The muscular man got out and looked at the sisters before speaking.

"So, I'm assuming that you also got letters earlier today asking you to come here to interview for a job?"

"That's right. Did yours also have the phoenix stamp on it?" questioned the younger sibling.

"It did."

"Just to make sure we've got this right, all three of us got a letter today from a place called the Phoenix Division saying we had been selected for some sort of a job interview, right?" the elder sibling asked.

"Yeah, that's basically correct," the other two agreed.

"One more question though, why?"

"Well I believe I can help answer that, Miss Callahan."

The trio turned around so fast they could have seen the backs of their own heads. Standing behind them, having seemingly appeared from nowhere, was a middle aged man with salt and pepper hair and goatee. He was of average height, had put on a few extra pounds in his advancing age but still looked like he could really move if he had to.

"Apologies for being late, I had something I needed to take care of."

"Who are you?"

"I am Alec Falken and you are Elsa Callahan, Anna Callahan and Kristoff Bjorgman, am I right?"

"How do you know our names?" asked Kristoff.

"Well, Mr. Bjorgman, you all received letters today asking you to come for job interviews right? Well I'm the person in charge here so of course I'm going to know your names. Now come with me, please, I'll show you around."

"Around what? What are we even doing here?" Elsa asked, desperately wanting some answers.

"Don't worry, Miss Callahan, I'll explain everything inside. Come on now."

Alec walked past them all and took a small remote out of one of his pockets which he used to open the door. Elsa, Anna and Kristoff didn't move from where they were standing.

"Well come on, we haven't got all day," he said and walked further into the warehouse. "Everything is alright, I assure you."

The three of them followed, albeit with a fair distance between them Matthias. He was leading them down a brightly lit passageway that had a door at the end with no handle on it. Spaced every few feet along the wall were cylinders that had caution labels on them.

"Word of advice, don't touch those cylinders, they're bombs."

"Bombs?!" they all three exclaimed.

"Yes, but it's really nothing to worry too much about. We haven't had to set them off in the history of the Phoenix Division," answered Alec as he leaned in close to the box which scanned his retina before opening the door.

"I still don't understand, though, where are we?" Anna inquired as they crossed the threshold into an office that seemed to have been taken out of a steampunk novel. The chairs at the three desks were more modern but everything else followed the same steampunk motif, including the computer monitors. The largest desk, which was facing the windows which had the blinds drawn, was the only desk that had a computer. The rest of the space was filled with papers and files. The desk to the right was in front of a bookcase that held a myriad of books from steampunk to fantasy to science fiction. The third desk to the left was filled with half-finished electronic projects that had components strew about along with post-it notes and sheets of paper with details scribbled on them.

"Please, hold your questions for a bit later. First off, I'd like to introduce you to the other people you'll be working with," said Alec as he pulled a flare gun out of a drawer in the larger desk and walked out the door. "That should have gotten their attention. Your associates will be arriving here shortly. In the meantime does anyone want some cookies?"

Anna didn't need to be asked twice and swiped three cookies off the plate Alec was holding so fast you'd think it was a magic trick.

"No thanks," Elsa smiled when the plate was offered to her.

"Elsa, you need to try these," Anna urged through a mouthful. "Is there any way I can get the recipe?"

"Possibly," Alec grinned as Kristoff took one of the tasty treats.

"I'm here! I made it! Ran all the way, I hope you appreciate it!" wheezed a man as he ran through the door.

"Your timing is perfect, Andrew. Class, this is Andrew Salcedo. Andrew, these are our new colleagues, Elsa and Anna Callahan and Kristoff Bjorgman."

"Hello!" Anna chirped with a wide smile.

"Hi," Andrew grinned back as he shook everyone's hand. "As Alec said, I am Andrew, I'm the resident tech geek."

Andrew was a skinny twig of a man who gave the impression of always having boundless energy, not too unlike Anna, Elsa mused. His short dark hair was in a quiff and his brown eyes sparkled with merriment.

"Andrew, where's our other associate?" Alec asked as he helped himself to an oatmeal raisin cookie.

"Uh, I believe he's down in aisle E-287. He should be here any second now actually."

"I was right in the middle of taking inventory all the way in the E sector, this had better be good… Alec. Oh Merlin's beard, what are you doing here?" I exclaimed when I saw who else was in the office.

"We got envelopes asking us to come here, what's your excuse?" snapped Elsa as she displayed her letter.

"You know each other?" asked Andrew, his eyebrow raised.

"Let me see that," I grumbled and snatched it out of her hand. "And yes, Andrew, we know each other. She was the one I got out of the department store on the ghost bust. You sent them a letter, Alec?"

"And you blew up my job with that ball thing you had!"

"I don't send the letters, the Archive does!"

"Wait, your job got blown up?"

"But, but, but… why? Why them?"

"Yes! It was on the news, where have you been?"

"Don't ask me how the Archive makes decisions, I don't know."

"I haven't had time for the news lately."

"Alec, is there any way this is a mistake?"

"Sorry, Daniel, but if they got the envelope there's no mistake. They're agents now."

"Wait, did you say agents?" Kristoff cut in. "What's going on?"

I huffed and threw myself into my chair, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Before we answer that, there are a few things that are going to have to be explained first," Alec deadpanned as he kept his gaze on me. "First things first, magic exists."

Kristoff gave a chuckle of disbelief while Elsa and Anna glanced at each other but stayed quiet.

"No, we're serious, really. Magic is real and it's out there in the world every day. Daniel and Andrew here are wizards."

"Really?" Kristoff inquired, clearly disbelieving and not without reason. "What about you? Are you also a wizard?"

"Me? No, I'm an outsider."

"What's an outsider?" Anna spoke up.

"An outsider can refer to either someone who does not know about the world of magic or someone, like Alec, who does know but has no magic powers. It's our term for 'muggle.'" Andrew replied.

"But you and Daniel do have magic?"

"Indeed we do," I spoke up and summoned a gust of wind that carried my staff from its place across the room around the office and finally into my awaiting hand. "Because it's against our laws to directly reveal the existence of magic to outsiders, I couldn't answer any of the questions you had. However, since you've all gotten those letters you're about to step into a world that before you only watched in movies and on TV and read about in books."

"Alright, just give us a minute to swallow that…"

Elsa, who was less overwhelmed, asked the next question. "What do you do here, though? Why are we here?"

"Well, Elsa, we are the Phoenix Division. It's our job to locate objects that could ruin the world's day, collect it and bring it back here where it is locked away and kept safe from the rest of the world," I stated.

"Essentially we help to keep the existence of magic a secret," Andrew added.

"But what is this place?" Anna questioned next.

Smiles broke out on our faces, including mine.

"This way, please," asked Alec as he got up and led them to the door to the main floor.

Outside the office was a balcony with a staircase that led down to the ground floor and beyond that was a huge cavernous space many times larger than the warehouse that contained it. In fact, it seemed to stretch on forever. The space was filled with aisles upon aisles of crates and objects of all kinds from bric-a-brac to vehicles to who knew what else.

"Elsa, Anna, Kristoff… welcome to the Archive."


	4. Welcome to the Archive Pt. 2

A/N: If I put an Author's Note at the beginning of a chapter, you know it's important. Just want to let you all know that Alec's name has been changed to Russell or 'Rusty' to his friends. Didn't want there to be any confusion on that. Now, on with the chapter.

* * *

"This place is… big," said a bewildered Anna. "Really, really,  _really_  big."

"Is it just me or is the inside bigger than the outside?" asked Kristoff, equally bewildered.

"That's magic for you," Andrew grinned. We never got tired of the reactions to the Archive. "The interior of the Archive exists in its own pocket dimension. That means it's as big as we need it to be, which is good as we add more and more artifacts to the shelves every week."

"Just how big is the Archive?" Elsa inquired.

"How big is big?" was my helpful answer.

"Well that's enough gawking, let's get a move on. Daniel, Andrew, you're in charge of the tour this time," stated Rusty.

"What?" asked Andrew as he whirled around to face our boss. "I'm not going on this tour, I can sense the tension between Elsa and Daniel."

"Wait a minute," I cut in. "If we have to lead this tour you're coming with us because the only other option I've got is to take Danica."

"I know. Have fun."

"I am going to handcuff you to a door with Elliot Ness's cuffs."

"Elliot Ness?" repeated Anna.

"He was a law enforcement agent most famed for brining Al Capone in. His cuffs are impossible to escape from, in fact, they tighten when you try to get them off and resist all attempts to break them."

"Then how do you get out?"

"Any standard cuff key from the era will render them inert. But Andrew won't have access to one!"

"I'm not going with you, I still have inventory to catalog."

"So do I. How do you want to do this? Rocks Paper Scissors? Flip a coin?"

"No, I have a better idea."

"And what would that be?"

"Not it!" he yelled and immediately bolted from the office.

"Hey! That's cheating!" I yelled after him. "Great, Danica it is."

"Who is Danica?" Elsa asked.

"She's a memory spirit, and she rubs me the wrong way from time to time," I groaned.

Elsa watched as I approached a pale gold crystal set in a stand on top of a counter that ran the length of one side of the room. The crystal itself was roughly the length of her palm and had runes in its surfaces. It pulsed frequently with an internal light.

"Alright, Danica, wake up. You have new recruits to torture."

The crystal pulsed brightly and a mass of energy flowed out that solidified in the form of a young woman with ginger hair wearing a green off the shoulder top, black skinny jeans and knee high brown boots.

"I resent the implications of that statement," she said as she rearranged her hair.

I ignored her comment and introduced the new agents. "Danica, this is Elsa, Anna and Kristoff. They are our new agents and I'd appreciate it if you spared them the horror stories that are the origins to some of the artifacts stored here."

"Well you're no fun, telling those 'horror stories' of yours to rookies is some of the best entertainment I get."

"I'm terribly sorry for the inconvenience, but I'd like to avoid cleaning up any messes this time if it's all the same to you."

"Alright, if you insist, I will not tell any of my so called 'horror stories' to the rookies," she acquiesced.

"Thank you, was that so hard to do?"

"Harder than you know."

"Oh, and spare us the details on the side effects of the more dangerous artifacts."

"Dang it! Now you've taken away all my fun!"

"I try," I grinned.

"I am so going to get you back for this," grumbled Danica as her shoulders sagged in defeat."

"Duly noted, now let's get this show on the road."

"Follow us, please," sighed Danica and motioned to the trio as she trailed after me. This tour was going to be boring.

* * *

"Ok, so the Phoenix Division as it is now has been around since the mid eighteenth century but it existed in some way shape or form for centuries before becoming an official agency. Artifacts have been littered throughout human history, you probably know of some of them without even knowing it," I informed as we walked through the aisles of the Archive.

"And he's not just talking about fairytale objects like Aladdin's lamp or the head of Medusa," Danica added.

"Wait, Medusa's head? As in the Medusa from the Greek myth, the Medusa with snakes for hair who can turn a person to stone with a single look?" asked Elsa.

"Ding, ding, ding, give the lovely lady a prize!" I applauded.

"But Medusa is just a… a… a myth!"

"A myth currently locked away in the Vault."

"What's the Vault?" Anna inquired.

"The Vault is the section of the Archive where all the exceptionally dangerous artifacts we collect are stored. You need to wear special coveralls just to go in there," replied Danica.

"Hold on, is that a proton pack from  _Ghostbusters_?" Kristoff asked while pointing at said artifact sitting on a shelf.

"Good eye, Kristoff," I grinned. "That is Bill Murray's hero pack from  _Ghostbusters 2_."

"But what's it doing here? It's just a prop with some lights, right?"

"It's a bit more than that now, actually. It actually works."

"I take it you mean that in that it does more than just light up and make sound effects."

"Correct! That actually fires a stream of protons that is capable of ensnaring a ghost!"

"Really? Are you really serious?"

"Of course I am. I'd love to prove it but it is dangerous and Rusty would have kittens if I did, so you'll just have to take my word for it."

"Why are these items here, exactly?" Elsa asked next. "Most of this stuff seems harmless enough."

"Trust me, if it's in the Archive then it has an evil streak," Danica spoke. "True, this stuff seems harmless but it's not. That's how they all get their victims."

"Danica's right, some of this stuff is relatively harmless, it's just here because for it to be out in the wild would bring up questions that we prefer not to be answered," I continued. "The vast majority of artifacts here, though, are dangerous, like Al Capone's hat. In the wrong hands it can allow someone commit whatever crimes they want and get away with them unless that crime is tax evasion."

"You know, I hear what you're saying but I'm still trying to understand how all of these… artifacts are dangerous," Anna spoke. "I mean, what's so dangerous about this tub here?"

"That bathtub belonged to Archimedes," answered Danica. "And not everything here is dangerous; some of the artifacts' side effects are even quite silly. But at the same time they can be embarrassing."

"Then what does the tub do?"

I decided to answer that particular question. "Anyone who uses the tub will find that they can think up quite extraordinary things. But then they also get the urge to run through the nearest town or city naked yelling 'eureka!'"

Three faces suddenly went varying shades of red and Danica cracked a smile at the sight.

"Moving on…" she said with a Cheshire Cat grin. This tour was turning out to be more entertaining than she had anticipated.

The tour went on with a few more questions until Anna asked one that I was waiting for. Most outsiders asked this one eventually.

"Daniel, why do you hide? Why hide magic? It could help people that science can't."

"Of course it could, I'm not going to deny that. But a world of wild magic, a world where it can easily fall into the wrong hands, we'd be back in medieval times within a day. And trust me, the medieval period is not as rosy as we make it out to be in popular entertainment."

"He's correct; those days were violent and controlled by tyrannical kings," Danica picked up. "Kings like Richard the Lion Hearted were very few."

"True, magic stops being helpful the moment it's used to drown nations in tidal waves of blood and dragons are used to scorch cities."

"Was there a time when magic filled the world or has it always been like this?" Anna questioned.

"Once upon a time magic was very prominent in the world and it traveled the globe in ley lines. But over time science and cities took over and with their rise magic declined and now there's not a whole lot left. Granted, there's still enough to cause some major disturbances now and then, especially in cities that are over or near what's left of the ley line network. And there's also enough left to create more artifacts which keeps the Phoenix Division in business."

Silence reigned for a few moments as the new bits of information were digested. Danica brought us back to reality in her own way.

"Alright people, that's enough time daydreaming, we've got a tour to complete. Chop chop!"

"I'm beginning to see what you meant when you said she rubbed you the wrong way," said Anna.

"Wait, where's Elsa?" Kristoff asked he noticed our party was one short.

Indeed, it seemed that the blonde had wandered from the group and could now be anywhere in the Archive.

"Elsa! Where are you?" Anna called out.

"Elsa!"

"Elsa, can you hear us?"

"I'm over here!"

We all turned in the direction of her voice saw her at the end of the aisle.

"Please don't do that again, you don't know your way around yet and it's easy to get lost in here," I warned.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to panic any of you but I saw something that I had to investigate."

"Oh? And what was it that grabbed your attention so?" Danica asked.

"I saw this," she answered as we were led to the end of the aisle and she pointed.

"Ah, you saw the  _Enola Gay_ ," I smiled as I recognized the B-29.

"Yes, I thought I recognized it from a picture in my history book."

"What did this plane do?" asked a perplexed Anna.

"This is the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945," I answered, slipping into teacher mode. "Since that day any bomb dropped from that plane will detonate with the same destructive force as the A-bomb. That's why it's here in the Archive."

I let the silence last for a few seconds for what I said to be comprehended. Absolutely any bomb this plane dropped now would go off with the same force as the atomic bomb that was dropped on Japan. That was a lot of destruction and death.

The tour continued for a while longer with more questions being asked and orientating the new recruits on the basic layout of the aisles in the Archive. The one stop we took for a break before turning back almost turned into a fiasco when Anna tried to sit on Andrew Borden's couch. Fortunately Danica and I were able to get her off before the artifact became active and no one was harmed. During our respite Kristoff asked some more questions that I knew would be coming eventually.

"I've been thinking, if magic exists what about creatures we read about such as Vampires and werewolves?"

"That's a good question, Kristoff. The creatures you mentioned do exist along with Elves, Goblins and faeries. Which would you like to hear about first?"

"Vampires!" Anna exclaimed immediately with the energy of a middle school student. "Are they really just blood hungry animals or is there more to them than that?"

"For the majority there is more to them than what you mentioned. Vampires are actually quite civil. They have their own system of government and while some can be a little cold at times, they are mostly pleasant enough company as long as there's a supply of blood nearby. But you do have to be careful all the same because the bloodlust can overpower them sometimes. Fortunately that doesn't happen too often. But then there are the vampires that just don't care about human life. They will attack a human and drink all their blood and spread death wherever they go. That group of Vampires is very fortunately, a splinter movement, they only represent a small percentage of the total Vampire population."

"What about exposure to sunlight? Will they turn to dust or just sparkle?"

"Vampires can stand the sunlight for limited periods of time but the longer they are in it the weaker they get. If they are in the sunlight for too long they will die."

"Do they also really bite their victims in the neck to drink their blood?"

"Yes, they do. Although if the victim is struggling, as in trying to run away, Vampires have been known to bite places other than the neck. But struggling against a Vampire is practically unheard of."

"Why is that?" asked Kristoff.

"Because you can't run from a Vampire; they are as fast as they are depicted in popular entertainment and they also have a secret weapon which is an ability to make their intended victims feel calm and at ease. Once a victim is reeled in that way the Vampire may lick the area of the neck where they intend to bite to induce a sense of euphoria and render the victim completely incapable of offering resistance while they feed. A smart Vampire will only drain enough blood to sate the bloodlust and keep the victim alive for further use.

But the problem with that is that after a while the victim can get addicted to the euphoria the Vampire induces to the point that they demand to be bitten. This gives them a significant amount of control over their human prey and some have been known to take advantage of it. For example, before I was a Phoenix Agent, I worked as a Guardian in the Protectorate. During my time there one of my cases brought me in to contact with a Vampire, Astoria, who runs a brothel in uptown New York. Some of the girls there were addicted to Astoria's bite. She used her abilities to get new girls to come and work at the brothel and exploit them."

"That sounds awful," stated Elsa.

"The girls who were lured in with the bites didn't think so because they were so addicted to the aphrodisiac Astoria provided. And that goes to show that there's a dark side to everything in the world of magic."

* * *

"And that concludes the tour, thank you for coming, we hope you enjoyed it," said Danica as we walked back across the threshold of the office.

"How did it go?" Rusty asked as he swiveled around in his chair to face us.

"Well, all things considered it went rather well, especially because Danica behaved."

"You see? I can behave when I want or need to. Just don't get used to it."

"And how about you three? Are you all alright?"

"Yeah, I think we'll be fine, thanks," Kristoff said. He still looked as though he was processing all he had learned.

"Great, and now comes the final part. Do you all want to be Phoenix Agents or not?"

"Any chance we can get back to you on that tomorrow?" asked Elsa.

"I'm afraid not, Ms. Callahan."

"What? How come?"

"Protocol requires that any recruits must choose if they want to be a part of the Phoenix Division before they leave. If they say no and are outsiders, we can't just let them walk around with the knowledge that this operation exists so we have to erase their memories."

"So in other words, we have to decide now and if we decline then our memories of this place and everything we've just learned will be taken from us?" Anna repeated to make sure she got everything.

"Yeah, that's correct."

"Can we take a few minutes?"

"Of course you can. Just try to come to a decision within the hour, please."


End file.
